[openib-general] [PATCH]proposal for enabling partial ports on HCA

[Roland Dreier]

    Fab> Shouldn't a user get an error (not an oops) if they try to
    Fab> use the MAD layer for a device that didn't initialize
    Fab> properly within the MAD layer?  Doesn't the MAD layer trap
    Fab> that device requests are valid?  It seems that adding such
    Fab> checks would be much simpler to implement, rather than trying
    Fab> to figure out how to express these limitations to the various
    Fab> ULPs.

Yeah, I guess that makes sense, although it exercises the upper
layers' error paths more.  All of the modules that export interfaces
used by other layers have to be prepared for a device that they failed
to initialize, and the upper layers have to be prepared for lower
layers to fail.

 - R.